Psalm 21

• Thank you, Lord, for saving me and giving me victory.
• Lord, I expect that you will defeat all of Your enemies.

Psalm 26

• May God be my Judge.
• There may be other things of which I am guilty, but not these.
• Please don’t let me suffer with the ungodly.
• Lord, save me, be merciful to me.

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Psalm 3

The title to this psalm proves that the psalms are not arranged chronologically.

Without encouraging paranoia, do you have a large number of people who oppose you? David saw an increase in the number of his enemies (v 1).

Though the unbelievers thought otherwise, David knew that God would help him (v 2-3).

Nor did David toss and turn all night worrying about his problems (v 5).

Psalm 20

Verses 1-4 form a blessing, a benediction, a prayer that God will be gracious to His people.

What is faith? Confidence that God hears and saves His people (v 6).

Contrast the feeble help of a well-equipped army with the power of the almighty God (v 7-8).

Understanding the majesty of a king is difficult to understand, especially for someone who has grown up in a land that elects its president. How much more difficult is it for mortal man to understand the Supreme Majesty, the Lord God Himself.

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Asking God to treat some men differently (Psalm 70)

From cradle to grave and beyond (Psalm 71)

Meditation Points:

• It is God who made us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 71:6)
• It is God who saves us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 71:3)
• It is God who keeps us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 71:9, 18)
• It is God who raises us (resurrects us?), and not we ourselves (Psalm 71:20)
• It is God who should be praised, and not we ourselves (Psalm 71:8, 14-16, 22-24)

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Absolom’s Conspiracy

• How he stole the hearts of the people (v 1-6)
• How he used religion as an excuse to be away where he could further his wicked designs (v 7-12)
• How David, for the good of his people and Jerusalem, fled (v 13-18)
• How a newcomer to the court refused to abandon the king (v 19-22)
• How the priests and Levites were forbidden to bring the ark of the covenant (v 23-29)
• How the weeping and barefoot king prayed for God to intervene (v 30-31)
• How Hushai, a close friend, was encouraged to spy on Absolom and report to David (v 32-37)
• How Absolom achieved his goal of taking Jerusalem (v 37)

Meditation Points:

• 40 or 4 (v 7)? It is unlikely that this event took place 40 years after David’s reconciliation with Absolom (2 Samuel 14:33). Was Absolom 40 years old, or was time reckoned from an event 40 years earlier, such as the anointing of David to be king? The number 40 is found in the Septuagaint (LXX), the Vulgate, and Chaldee versions of the text, while the number 4 is found in most Hebrew texts. In a couple of instances, the number 40 stands with the word “days” rather than “years”.
• Absolom understood politics. He created dissatisfaction in the minds of the people and presented himself as a better alternative.
• Absolom understood David’s concern for God. How could David refuse the request to keep one’s vow?
• To fight or not to fight. David quickly arrived at an answer, took his family and fled the city.
• Loyalty. At the risk of their own lives, men joined with David.
• If “all the country wept with a loud voice” (2 Samuel 15:23), then why didn’t they stage a defense against Absolom’s plot?
• Is God able to “turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness (2 Samuel 15:31)? Then may he do it again.
• David’s refusing to involve the ark of the covenant in his dispute was wise (2 Samuel 15:25-26).
• Moses sent spies to search out Canaan; and David sent spies to keep a watchful eye on Absolom. What does it take to be a good spy?

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